And the hammer comes down

Gilles Courteau, the commissioner of the QMJHL, announced his decision today regarding the brawl between the Quebec Remparts and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Six players and two coaches will sit out between one and seven games.

In a statement, Courteau said, "The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League finds the events which took place over the course of last week-end's games deplorable and unacceptable. We are deeply troubled by the incidents. In closing, I'd like to warn organizations that these types of incidents will not be tolerated and that should any more occur, steep fines will be handed out."

Here's how it all breaks down:

PLAYERS
Jonathan Roy (QUE) - 7 games, $500 fine
Sebastien Rioux (CHI) - 6 games
Maxime Lacroix (QUE) - 3 games
Marc-Olivier Vallerand (QUE) - 2 games
Charles-Antoine Messier (CHI) - 2 games
Antoine Roussel (CHI) - 1 game

COACHES
Patrick Roy (QUE) - 5 games
Richard Martel (CHI) - 2 games - automatic suspension because one of his players left the penalty box to engage in a fight.

Each team was also fined $4000.

Is it just me, or does the penalty for Jonathan Roy seem a little light? I realize that he was handed the toughest sentence of them all, but I was absolutely sickened by his behaviour. Maybe the Q was a little more lenient because J. Roy apologized for his hand gestures to the crowd and stated that he would never behave that way in the future - though he failed to say anything about the fight.

I just hope that Chicoutimi sweeps Quebec the rest of the way to rub it in. If the Remparts are able to hold on and play well until J. Roy returns, then how much of a lesson will this be? How much of a deterrent will the suspension be? I think of Pronger and his flying elbow antics last year and how the Ducks won those two games when he was out of the lineup. Lesson learned? Nope.

Patrick Roy: Still a "Saint"?

They called him "Saint Patrick."

He won the 1986 Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in his rookie year, and again in 1993. He won the Cup two more times with the Colorado Avalanche.

He was quite the character, and was a quotable player now and then, with Stanley Cup rings plugging his ears.

He even fought on occasion

Quirky? Yes. He never skated on the blue lines, he often talked to the goal posts, and he didn't talk to reporters before a game...but aren't all goalies a bit quirky?

However, one could also say that he has a certain lack of class. Trouble just keeps following him around.

After retiring from the NHL, Roy made the leap into coaching. The Remparts lost the QMJHL Championships to the Ted Nolan-coached Moncton Wildcats in 2006, but since Moncton was hosting the Memorial Cup that spring and already had a berth in the tournament, the Remparts were invited to participate. The rookie coach led his Remparts to the finals against the Cats, and won the Memorial Cup. That was a highlight in his career as a coach.

Unfortunately, he hasn't had many more shining moments since hanging up his goalie pads. In January 2007, there was an incident between Roy and the co-owner of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, Pierre Cardinal. Roy apparently threw punches at Cardinal after a crowd of fans surrounded the Remparts' bus after a game between the teams. Cardinal filed a claim of assault with the police, but later withdrew his complaint. Roy claimed that the media displayed prejudice against him by saying that he didn't show remorse over the incident and even contemplated resigning as head coach and co-owner, though he eventually decided to remain with the club.

Just this past weekend, another incident happened between Quebec and Chicoutimi. It was Game 2 of the best-of-7 playoff series between the two teams, and the Sagueneens were up 7-1 at the end of the second period when Christophe Poirer of Quebec and Joel Champagne of Chicoutimi collided and a brawl ensued. Jonathan Roy, Patrick's son and Remparts goalie, challenged Chicoutimi goalie Bobby Nadeau to a fight. Roy Jr. bolted down the ice and jumped Nadeau, pounding him even though he had fallen to the ice.

As the younger Roy was being led off the ice, he decided to give a few one-finger salutes to the crowd, after which Chicoutimi d-man Sebastien Rioux jumped him.

Coach Roy said that he did not encourage his team to fight the Sagueneens, and that he "can't control the reactions of [his] players in the heat of action."

He also went on to say that he did not encourage his son to fight Nadeau, and that his son likely saw Nadeau at the blue line and saw it as an invitation to fight - even though the video clearly shows Nadeau in his crease when Roy charges over and attacks him.

His son also said that he was not instructed to fight the Chicoutimi goalie.

"Patrick looked at me and told me to calm down," Jonathan Roy said. "I said to myself, `He doesn't want me to go', but when the line judge released me, I said to myself . . . `I'm going."'



I'm not saying that Patrick Roy is completely responsible for the latest incident because the players themselves decided to release some of their anger and frustration on the Sagueneens. That being said, a coach must also accept a certain amount of responsibility for what his players do on the ice, and the actions of his son were completely unacceptable. A goalie-goalie fight is (somewhat) fine, but don't keep punching the guy after he has fallen to the ice. And don't flip off the crowd. Jonathan Roy's actions proved him to be an immature little show-off.

However, this is not the first time that Patrick Roy has been in the news in the past few years. Every few months or so, you hear about Roy and his altercations with various people in the Q. I sometimes wonder if the Quebec media will grab onto anything and everything that happens with Patrick Roy and blow it out of proportion, or if the truth is being reported. Either way, Patrick Roy is one big distraction for his team. If you thought that Ray Emery and his antics were distractions, imagine having your head coach/GM/owner, who just happens to be one of the best goalies in history, getting in fights (verbal and physical) on a regular basis.

The saying is, "Like father, like son." I suppose this is true when it comes to the Roy family, and I guess you could also say, "Like coach, like players."

At the end of the day, the Remparts' dressing room is home to an immature crew that doesn't know what it means to be a classy player that shows respect. Chicoutimi may have been beating them badly, and Quebec needed to demonstrate that they weren't going to roll over and die, but to do it like they did was entirely unacceptable.

Young hockey player must choose between hockey and religion

Eighteen-year-old Benjamin Rubin has a dream of playing in the NHL, but it might be harder for him to realize his dream because of his religion. Rubin is an Orthodox Jew and does not play hockey or practice with his team on the Sabbath - which is from Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown.

Last year, he had a chance to play for Patrick Roy on the Québec Remparts, but he missed almost half of the games because they were played on Friday night or Saturday afternoon. Roy told him at the end of the 2006-07 season that he could return and play on the 2nd or 3rd line, but that he would have to play every game. Rubin chose to not accept Roy's deal, and so he was traded to the Gatineau Olympiques.

Rubin will not miss as many games in Gatineau (8, compared to 35 in Québec), but he must still choose between hockey and religion. Gatineau wants to respect his religious beliefs, as did Québec, but they need to keep their team together.

So Rubin now faces the most difficult decision of his life: does he keep his religious beliefs, or does he play the game that he loves and hope to make the NHL. It certainly doesn't look as though he can have both.

Update (09/13/07): Rubin and the Olympiques have come to an agreement. Rubin will travel with the team and play hockey on the Sabbath, but he will miss three games for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

I don't envy the position that he was put in, having to choose between your faith and hockey, and I can't say whether he made a good decision or a bad one, but my guess is that it will make him happy. At least I hope it does, and I hope that he doesn't feel guilty (or that others make him feel guilty) for making this choice. I wish him all the luck in the world.

Esposito injured, out for Super Series

The big countdown is on: just six days until Team Canada and Team Russia clash in a one time, 8 game Super Series. Team Canada is currently in Toronto, having their first practice, and already someone is out of the lineup.

Angelo Esposito, the star centre of the Quebec Remparts, will not be suiting up for Canada for the Super Series. A groin injury will keep him out of competition, and he probably wants to rest up before his very first NHL training camp (assuming he's ready to go by then).

Esposito has a lot to prove to the hockey world. Just over a year ago, he was a rookie on the Memorial Cup-winning Quebec team and projected to be the first overall pick in the 2007 Entry Draft. However, Esposito's sophomore stats were not as impressive as his rookie stats and his stock fell. By draft day this past June, he was projected to be taken 8th or so, and hockey analysts were saying that he might be around for Carolina or Montreal to snatch up in the 11th and 12th spots. Carolina and Montreal went up to the podium - and chose someone else. Amazingly, Esposito was chosen 20th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although thrilled with the idea of joining the Pens, my bet is that Esposito has a burning desire to tear up the NHL and prove to 17 teams that they made a mistake in drafting someone else.

He could have used the Super Series as a first step in proving the world wrong, but he'll have to wait until the Pens training camp to make an impression. I seriously doubt that he'll make the team this year (but then again, they all said the same about Jordan Staal), but he can still put in a good showing before return to Quebec. My guess is that he'll regain his confidence and scoring touch this year in the Q - Patrick Roy will definitely help him out - and we'll be hearing a lot about him at Christmas-time.

Beware of Cat

Danny Flynn is no stranger to the Moncton Wildcats’ organization. Two years ago, the Cats hired Ted Nolan to coach the team for the 2005-06 season (which would see the city host the Memorial Cup) and Nova Scotia native Flynn came along for the ride as an assistant coach. The Cats would capture the President’s Cup as the top team in the QMJHL, and would go all the way to the final game of the Memorial Cup Playoffs, losing to Patrick Roy and his Remparts. Nolan and Flynn left Monkey-Town that summer for the big show on Long Island.

Fast forward to 2007, and Flynn is back – this time as the Wildcats’ head coach. He has been spending his days at the Tim Horton’s 4-Ice Centre, evaluating dozens of players who all hope for a coveted spot on the team. He has sent a lot of kids home, but he still has a long way to go before he gets his team. I’m not sure how the team will pan out this year since I’m not familiar with any of the players, but I like how Flynn is not loading up on veterans or rookies – this way, the team will not have to go through periods of ‘rebuilding’ as their veterans move on.

Here’s to the Wildcats bringing home the Memorial Cup in 2008, the first championship trophy for Moncton since the Hawks won the Calder Cup in 1982.

And here’s to the Cats developing the next Grant Fuhr, François Beauchemin, Steve Bernier, or Luc Bourdon – all of whom played in Monkey-Town.

And finally, here’s to Devon MacAusland, a local kid looking to be a rookie Cat this year. I hope that Flynn keeps him around, and I expect that he’ll be a crowd favourite.